USTFCCCA Polls & Rankings
By Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA September 19, 2018   

2018 NJCAA DIII Cross Country National Coaches’ Ranking – Week 1

NEW ORLEANS – You might find it hard to believe, but the NJCAA Division III Cross Country season is nearly one month old. The first countable day in the division was back on August 22 and a lot happened between then and now.

Needless to say, it’s the perfect time to debut the 2018 NJCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Cross Country National Team Rankings, which will be released weekly by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Week-by-Week Ranking Charts

NATIONAL COACHES’ RANKING
MEN: 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | All Years
WOMEN: 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | All Years

The 2018 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be held Saturday, November 3 in Canandaigua, New York.

Men’s Story

Harper (Ill.), the defending national champion, sits atop the rankings in the No. 1 spot. The Hawks had three meets thus far and looked strong in each one. Harper (Ill.) placed seventh overall – but was the first junior college – at the Aurora Invitational and then placed second out of five programs at the Lake Forest College Invitational this past weekend.

Sandhills (N.C.), which finished third at last year’s national meet, comes in at No. 2 in Week 1. The Flyers have only raced once this season at the Catawba Invitational back on September 1 and were set to tangle with a strong field at the Adidas XC Challenge this past weekend before Hurricane Florence had other ideas.

A trio of programs shot up the rankings to round out the top-5: Hudson Valley (N.Y.) comes in at No. 3 after finishing 24th last year at nationals; Onondaga (N.Y.) is No. 4 after finishing seventh last year; Lorain County (Ohio) comes in at No. 5 after a 23rd-place showing in 2017.

Women’s Story

Defending national champion Harper (Ill.) is the No. 1 team to begin the season. The Hawks took part in three meets this season thus far and stood out at the Aurora Invitational, where they were the top-finishing JUCO as Rachael Temple led the way in 21st place individually.

Big things are also expected out of Hudson Valley (N.Y.) and Mercer County (N.J.). Both programs did not make the national meet last year, but the Vikings and the Vikings (Yes, have the same nickname), are ranked second and third, respectively, to begin the 2018 season.

FIT (N.Y.) and Camden County (N.J.) round out the top-5 at fourth and fifth.

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USTFCCCA NJCAA Division III
's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll

2018 Week 1 - September 19th

RANK TEAM & INFOPTSCHANGE
1 harper-ill HARPER (ILL.)
Central Region
Region 4
Jim Macnider (8th) 		◀▶
(LW: 1)
2 hudson-valley-n-y-cc HUDSON VALLEY (N.Y.) CC
Northeast Region
Region 3 (1)
Sarah Popovics (5th) 		NR
3 fit-n-y FIT (N.Y.)
Northeast Region
Region 15
Joe Plutz (7th) 		▲ 1
(LW: 4)
4 camden-county-n-j CAMDEN COUNTY (N.J.)
East Region
Region 19
Wayne Merkh (5th) 		NR
5 suffolk-county-n-y-cc SUFFOLK COUNTY (N.Y.) CC
Northeast Region
Region 15
Matthew French (5th) 		▲ 7
(LW: 12)
6 kingsborough-n-y-cc KINGSBOROUGH (N.Y.) CC
Northeast Region
CUNYAC (7)
Dave Loobie (19th) 		▼ 3
(LW: 3)
7 georgia-military GEORGIA MILITARY
Central Region
Region 17 (2)
Robert Sherwood (3rd) 		▲ 2
(LW: 9)
8 sandhills-n-c-cc SANDHILLS (N.C.) CC
Central Region
Region 10
Jef Moody (2nd) 		◀▶
(LW: 8)

Dropped Out: No. 5 Middlesex County (N.J.), No. 6 Raritan Valley (N.J.) CC, No. 7 Onondaga (N.Y.) CC, No. 8 Nassau (N.Y.) CC, No. 9 Mohawk Valley (N.Y.) CC, No. 10 Oxford (Ga.), No. 11 Bergen (N.J.) CC, No. 12 RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.), No. 13 Finger Lakes (N.Y.) CC, No. 14 Herkimer County (N.Y.) CC, No. 15 Thaddeus Stevens (Pa.), No. 16 RCSJ Cumberland (N.J.), No. 17 SUNY Orange, No. 19 Joliet (Ill.) JC, No. 20 Ocean County (N.J.), No. 21 SUNY Adirondack, No. 22 Columbus State, No. 22 Columbus State (Ohio) CC, No. 23 Lorain County (Ohio) CC, No. 25 Queensborough (N.Y.) CC, No. 26 Williamson (Pa.), No. 27 SUNY Broome CC, No. 28 SUNY Ulster, No. 29 Westmoreland County

NJCAA Division III
NJCAA Division III

Men's Cross Country
Men's Outdoor Track & FieldWomen's Outdoor Track & FieldMen's Cross CountryWomen's Cross Country

National Coaches' Ranking
National Coaches' Ranking

2018
2025202420232022202120202019201820172016201520142011

Week-by-Week Ranking

TeamWeek #1Week #2Week #3Week #4FINAL
Harper (Ill.)11111
Sandhills (N.C.) CC22322
Suffolk County (N.Y.) CC65233
Ocean County (N.J.)74
Kellogg (Mich.) CC5
RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.)101096
Hudson Valley (N.Y.) CC33467
Finger Lakes (N.Y.) CC777811
Onondaga (N.Y.) CC4661012
Kingsborough (N.Y.) CC991013
Columbus State (Ohio) CC414
Lorain County (Ohio) CC545518
Patrick & Henry (Va.) CC88821
Joliet (Ill.) JC9

USTFCCCA NJCAA Division III Cross Country

2018 Rankings & Polls Calendar
Weeks National Coaches' Ranking KEY DATES
Week 1Wed 9/19
Week 2Wed 10/3
Week 3Wed 10/17
Week 4Wed 10/31Nov. 3: NJCAA DIII Champs, Canandaigua, N.Y.
FINAL Results
(official final ranking)		Sat 11/3
MEN | WOMEN